More than a Story
by LuckySilver
Summary: Chance and Tyler Jackson were your average high school students, until Mr. Brunner told them that stupid story. Now, they're left wondering: Who were Percy and Annabeth, exactly? And what do they have to do with Chance and Tyler? Most importantly, what happened to them? After all, people don't just vanish.
1. Chance

**Come on, guys. We've been over this. I don't own PJO. If I did, Mark of Athena would've been out six months ago. **

**~Lucky**

* * *

I sighed and pushed my geometry worksheet to the corner of my desk, burrying my head in my hands and groaning softly. After a moment of just sitting there, rubbing my eyes, I realized that if I sat like that any longer, I'd probably fall asleep. It would've been fine by me, but I don't think it would go very well on my record.

A's in all subjects, does volenteer work in the school office, is in the school's leadership staff... Oh, what's this? Fell asleep in class? Pft! We don't want her in

our_ college! Lazy child..._

"Perhaps Miss Jackson would care to explain the problem to you, Mr. Carrie."

I lifted my head to glare at my geometry teacher, who was completely oblivious to my '_Freakin' really, Mr. Brunner?' _ look.

"Mr. Brunner..." I chose my words carefully, as not to curse at my teacher. "I'm afraid that I can not assist-"

I was cut off by the obnoxious screaming of the bell. The period was over. Kids sprang up from their chairs, grabbed their bags, and pushed their way out the door, into the ocean of kids that we call 'passing period'.

Before I could escape Mr. Brunner's stuffy classroom, I heard him call out to me.  
"Miss Jackson?"

I turned, raising an eyebrow.

"May I see you after school, please? With your brother?"

It was Mr. Brunner's polite way of telling me that I _would _come to his classroom after school, and I _would _bring my brothers.

"Yes, sir," I sighed. "May I ask, however, why you want to see my brother, too?"

Mr. Brunner glanced at the clock, but I got the feeling he wasn't really checking the time. "I happen to know that your next class is History, and I also know that Ms. Lion's room is on the other side of the school. I think you should be on your way, Miss Jackson."

If there was one thing I knew about Mr. Brunner, it was that he wasn't a person you could argue with. It wasn't that he had an unmovable opinion or that he came up with unbeatable arguements- he was just to nice to argue with.

"Of course, Mr. Brunner. I'll see you after school."

* * *

When the clock struck three, I dove into the hall with the rest of seventh period. About halfway down the hall, I remembered my promise to meet Mr. Brunner in his classroom. With Tyler. Who just so happened to be on the other side of the school at that moment.

I cursed as I pushed my way through the overly crowded hallway (seriously, can't they widen these things or something?), trying to find my brother. Eventually, I did catch sight of him, struggling to push his books in his locker while trying to fend of Endrea Maticci, the head cheerleader and Tyler's not-so-secret admirer.

"Tyler."

My ever so fortunate twin beamed at me. Endrea scowled in distaste.

"Did you _have_ to butt in, Chance?" she scrunched her nose. "We were a little busy."

"No!" Tyler grabbed my arm, probably terriffied that I'd leave him alone with the demonic little prep. As if I'd do that. Tyler was annoying, but I wouldn't set Endrea Maticci on my worst enemy (Who just so happened to be Endrea herself.).

"We have to walk home, don't we, Chance?" Tyler looked totally desperate. I was pleased. "Like, in a hurry."

"Actually," I smiled angelically. "We have to go see Mr. Brunner."

Tyler didn't even question it. He just stuffed the rest of his books in his locker and slammed it shut, nearly snapping off Endrea's manicured fingernails.

"Let's go." Tyler grabbed my arm and pulled me toward Mr. Brunner's room.

I shot a smug look over my shoulder at Endrea, like _'Ha! My brother loves me and not you!'_ I'd never say that out loud of course. That'd be way too immature.

* * *

Mr. Brunner was sitting in his wheelchair, grading what I assumed were yesterday's quizzes.

He smiled warmly when we stepped into the room, gesturing for us to take a seat in the front desks. He wheeled himself over to us.

"Ah, Chance, Tyler!" Mr. Brunner beamed at us like we were his star pupils (which we probably were, but it was still kind of unsettling). "Do you know why I called you here?"  
"No," I said. "But can we hurry, please? I need to get home and do my science homewo-"

"_Chance." _Tyler hissed. "Be. Polite."

His gray eyes met mine in warning. We'd both taken after our father in appearance- black hair, gray eyes, easily tanned skin. If we were the same gender, I'm sure that we'd be identical. As for our personalities- well, we were polar oppisites. Usually, we couldn't stand each other for very long- even worse than your typical brother/sister relationship.

"Anyway," Mr. Brunner continued. "I'd like to tell you two a story."  
My jaw fell open. "A story? Seriously? Mr. Brunner, with all due respect, we're fifteen. We have no interest in-"

Tyler's elbow met my ribs. I'd punch him in the face for that later.  
"We'd love to hear it, Mr. Brunner," my brother ammended.

"You'll enjoy it," Mr. Brunner promised. "Now, make yourselves comfortable. It's a bit of a long story."

I sighed and leaned back in my chair, preparing myself for the worst.

"A long time ago," Mr. Brunner started. I internally groaned. A fairytale. Oh, joy. "-a young boy lived in New York. He was twelve years old; quite the troubled lad when it came to academics. But his grades were the least of his problems, for this child was the most unlucky boy that had ever lived..."

Mr. Brunner told about the boy and his best friend- a satyr who had been sent to protect him from monsters. He explained how the boy was claimed by the Greek god Poseidon. The boy met a girl, who dreamed of getting out of the demigod camp, where she'd lived for five years with her best friend. They went on a 'quest', because Zeus's lightening bolt had been stolen, and the boy was the main suspect. The story went on and on.

Eventually, Mr. Brunner finished his story and looked at Tyler and I for a response. Tyler, naturally, was the first to speak.  
"That was very interesting, Mr. Brunner. But... May I ask, what does it have to do with us?"  
"And where the hell'd you come up with it?" I quizzed.

Mr. Brunner smiled gently at Tyler. "Oh, you'll find out soon enough, my boy. And Chance, dear, please watch your language."

My brother sat up and stretched. "So what happened next? The kid turned sixteen and they won the war. That can't be the end."

"Oh, it's not," Mr. Brunner promised. "But I'd like to know, what do _you_ think happened?"

"I don't know, Mr. Brunner, sir."

My teacher laughed softly. "Alright. What about you, Chance?"  
I shrugged. "It's a fairytale. Obviously, the kid got a happy ending. Married the girl- the one he met at high school- and had kids and stuff. Lived happily ever after. The end."

"You're wrong, my dear."  
I rasied an eyebrow. "How so?"  
"He did not marry her. I suppose I left that part out. His friend became the Oracle of Delphi, meaning she couldn't marry. The boy married the other girl- the one he'd met years ago."

I sighed. Of course. Silly me.

"Can we leave, Mr. Brunner?" I asked. "_Please?"_

"I'm not finished," Mr. Brunner held up a hand. "The answer to your question, Tyler. Do either of you see any connection to the story and your life?"

I rolled my eyes. Tyler thought for a moment.

"The characters. They're kind of like us. The girl was short tempered and clever, like Chance. The guy was laid back and kinda dependent. Like me."

Mr. Brunner snapped his fingers. "There's one. I want you two to think about the story a bit more. I want you to tell me if you can think of any more similarities. Why don't you ask your parents? I'm sure they'd be quite helpful on this particular topic."

I rolled my eyes and stood up curtly. Tyler thanked Mr. Brunner and shook his hand politely.

* * *

"What do you think he meant by 'asking our parents'?" Tyler asked as we stepped off school campus.

I shrugged. "Who knows, and who _cares? _Bro, we're talking Brunner here. He's cool, yeah, but he's a little nutty, you know? Let's just get home."

Unfortunately, the names of Greek gods stuck in my head as we boarded the city bus. I realized something as we sat down on the gum-loaded seats.

Mr. Brunner never told us the character's names.

* * *

**You know what'd be really awesome? Hitting that little 'review' button down there. Yeah... That one. Just click... Ah, that's a good reader!**


	2. Tyler

**My brother's a dork. Just thought I'd get that out there. He wrote a song... Of course, the fact we collaborated on the song probably makes me a dork, too... It's a parody of Nicki Minaj's Starships. Might post it later if you guys want.**

**Hey, guys- guess what I don't own! I'll give you a minute to think about that...**

**...**

**...**

**If you said a million dollars, you're correct!**

**If you said PJO, you're also correct!**

**~Lucky**

* * *

"Where have you been?"

My mother demanded the moment Chance and I stepped through the door.

Her blue eyes bore into me, more worried than upset. I felt kind of bad for not calling (not that I _could have, _because Mom and Dad refused to let us have cell phones, even though we'd offered to pay for them ourselves).

"We were with Mr. Brunner," Chance said, shrugging like it was nothing. "We figured you'd be at work. Oops."

I shot my sister a glare. Sometimes I wondered if she talked without thinking, or if she just didn't care what people thought about her. It was really embarressing to take her somewhere, because she always let you know what she was thinking. _Always_.

"Sorry, Mom," I apologized. "We really thought that it wouldn't take so long. Sorry for worrying you."

Mom's face softened. "Okay. I was just-"

"Worried," I supplied. "I know, Mom."

"Mom," Chance started, her voice somewhat civil. "You know Mr. Brunner?"

"You're math teacher, right?" Mom shook her head. "You've talked about him, but I don't know him."

"He said to ask you something..." Chance hesitated. I stepped forward.

"He told us this story," I explained. "About Greek gods and whatnot."

Mom stiffened. "Oh? Those Greek myths are interesting, aren't they? Well, dinner's in the oven. Go do your homework."

She turned around and cantered into the kitchen. Chance stood next to me.

"What's with her?" she asked. "Acting kinda weird."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Ask Dad later. He might know."

* * *

Turns out, Dad _did _know. But he wouldn't talk about it. Chance and I tried everything. Even Chance's please-tell-me-Daddy-'cuz-if-you-don't-I'm-gonna-start-sobbing-and-if-that-doesn't-work-I'm-telling-Mom-what-you-did-last-week-look couldn't get him to talk.

It was well past nine o'clock when we finally gave up and left him alone. Obviously, he wasn't going to budge. He'd just sat there and stared at the T.V. like he couldn't hear us.

I was sitting on my bed, staring at my ceiling. I knew that the story shouldn't have had such a big impact on me. It wasn't really the story, even. It was the fact that Mom and Dad wouldn't talk to me about. What was so bad about Greek gods and heroes? Why wouldn't my parents just give me a straight answer?

"Tyler, I'm coming in. If you're naked, you hae two seconds to get dressed." Oh, great. Chance. Just the person I wanted to talk to.

"Okay, one. Two."

My door swung open and Chance stepped inside. She was clad in blue sweats and a white T-shirt, her black hair draping around her shoulders. As usual, she looked alert and ready to kill at the first notice. She glared at me, even though I hadn't done anything to her.

She sat down on my bed, shoving my legs out of the way.

"What's going on with Mom and Dad?"

I shrugged. "If I knew, Chance, I'd tell you."

"Would you really?"

She met my gaze and held it steadily for a long moment, a flicker of distrust in her gray eyes.

"Are you accusing me of something?" I asked slowly after a while.

"Should I be?"

"Listen, Chance, if you're just here to argue with me, just leave."

Chance sighed and dropped her glare. I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen her so- well, not murderous. She flopped on her back on my bed, looking up at nothing in particular.  
"I don't know what's going on, and I really _hate _that."

"So do I," I admitted. "But what can we do about it?"

She was quiet for a minute. "I... I was thinking that maybe Grandma and Grandpa might know something."

She didn't need to say which grandparents she had in mind- we only had our mom's parents. Dad never talked about his parents, but Chance and I had long since decided that they were dead. We didn't really think about them much- at least, _I _didn't. I'd never known them.

"So, what? You want us to go over there and ask them why Mom and Dad are so distant all of a sudden?" I laughed. "Yeah, that won't be random at all."

She glared at me. "Fine. Laugh if you want, but I'm going over there tomorrow after school. Feel free to tag along if you want, but don't you dare tell Mom and Dad why I'm going over there."

"Alright," I shrugged. "But it's not our buisness. I think you should leave it be- get over it."

Even as I said it, I felt a surge curiousity rushing through me, and I realized that I really wanted to know, too.

Chance got up from my bed and walked to my door. "Mom and Dad are keeping something from us," she glanced back at me. "And I'm going to find out what it is."

And then she was out the door.

* * *

**Once upon a time, there was a button. The button's name was Review, and he wanted more than anything to be clicked on. Do you want Review to be sad? No? Then make his dream come true. Click the button...**


	3. Chance 2

**For disclaimer, see previous chapters. I feel lazy. Am I lazy? Do I seem lazy to you? I hope not. Am I gonna get fat?**

**~Lucky**

* * *

It didn't take me long to get to my grandparent's house after school. I was there by three thirty, hopping off the city bus and making my way down the brick path to the front door.

My grandfather swung the door open before I even got to the front step. I jumped back in suprise, and Grandpa did the same.

"What the- _Chance?" _Grandpa blinked. "Am I forgetting something?"

I noticed that his blonde hair was a bit more faded than the last time I saw him. He wasn't wrinkly and didn't smell like prune juice like other people's grandfathers. His blue eyes still held that twinkle that suggested that he was still as lively as he used to be. It was reassuring to see Grandpa- like a reminder that some things never change, no matter how hard life fights to get away from you.

"Suprise visit," I covered quickly, stepping forward and hugging him. "Was I interrupting something?"

"No, no." he shook his head, kissing my forehead. "Just getting the mail."

"Let me grab it."

I bounded across his lawn and retrieved his mail for him. Grandpa grabbed my arm and escorted me inside, setting me down on the couch.

"Okay, Chancie, I know you-" I couldn't help but smile a little at the old nickname. I'd banned it from use about seven years ago, but Grandpa was an exception. "-you didn't come just to say hi, did you? You want something."

"I have a few questions," I admitted. "But I _did_ come to see you and Grandma. Where is she?"  
"Don't change the subject. What is it?"

I sighed, knowing that I'd been cornered. "Mom's acting weird, and so's my dad. I think they're keeping stuff from me and Tyler, but I'm not sure what it is."  
Grandpa gestured for me to go on.

"Last night, our math teacher told us this story. Greek gods and stuff like that. Anyway, Mr. Brunner told me and Tyler to ask Mom and Dad about it, so we did. Mom got all tight and wouldn't talk about it. Dad wouldn't either."

Grandpa was silent for a long time. Finally, he sighed and said, "I think you need to call Tyler and tell him to come over here."

* * *

Half and hour later, my brother walked through the front door. He hugged Grandpa and sat down across from us on the couch.

"What's up?" He asked, though I figured he already had a good idea.

"We need to talk." Grandpa ran a hand through his blonde hair.

He stood up and motioned for us to follow. Grandpa led us upstairs, into that old room where he and Grandma stored all of their old stuff.

Boxes were stacked against the wall. On a dusty desk in the corner, a wooden jewelry box and a bunch of little gold figurines made themselves comfortable. Picture albums were stacked high just about everywhere. I felt a little claustrophobic.

Grandpa flipped through the photo albums, like he was looking for one picture in particular.

"Tyler, Chance," he patted the floor next to him. We sat. "I had hoped that your parents would hande this, but obviously, neither of them want to do it."  
"Do what?" Tyler asked.

"Answer this honestly: Do you ever think about your other grandparents? Your dad's parents?"

"We didn't know them," I told him. "Don't cross my mind often."

Tyler nodded in agreement.

Grandpa suddenly stopped flipping through the photo album and shoved the book in my face. "See that?" he asked. "Do you know who that is?"  
Tyler leaned over to see the picture. It was a young couple, maybe in their early twenties, sitting at a picnic table. The man had dark hair and sea green eyes. In his arms, a little boy grinned, his black hair fluffy, gray eyes sparkling. The woman was blonde, with stunning gray eyes, just like the boy's. She held a baby girl to her chest. The girl had a little tuft of blonde hair and amazingly bright green eyes. The family was incredibly happy looking.

"No," I answered. "Should I?"

"That's your other grandparents."

I choked. Tyler grabbed the book and looked closer at the picture.

"W-what does that have to do with Mom and Dad, though?"

Grandpa sighed. "You're parents hoped to keep you away from this lifestyle. But it seems like there's not really much of a choice. Chiron's come for you two."

"What?" I asked at the same moment that Tyler said, "Who?"

"Let me explain."  
So he did. Grandpa explained about the Greek gods, how they were real and related to us. He explained that Mr. Brunner was really a centuar that ran a training facility for people who were related to the gods. He told us about the camp, Camp Half Blood. He explained our relations to the gods- Apollo, from him, because apparently Grandpa was the son of Apollo. Hephaestus from Grandma. And from our other grandparents: Poseidon and Athena.

"So what _did _happen to Dad's parents?" Tyler asked, after we'd taken everything in. "Did they just die or something?"

"No," Grandpa said. "We don't really know. They just disappeared one day. Your dad doesn't like to talk about it."

"Who's the other kid in the picture?" I asked. "The blonde one."

"Sophie, your aunt."

"We don't have an aunt," Tyler and I said simultainiusly.

"You have two of them," Grandpa corrected. "And an uncle. They all kind of split after Percy and Annabeth disappeared. Your dad went one way. Ryan went the other. Sophie took Theo under her wing and tried her best to fix everything, but it was really a broken effort. The family had broken up, and it was far beyond her control."

"That's horrible," Tyler murmered.

"It is," Grandpa agreed. "But that's beside the point right now. We need to get you to Camp Half Blood. If Chiron made a house-call for you, it's probably important."  
Tyler and I started to protest, but Grandpa just grabbed his car keys and tossed me the house phone.  
"Call your mom. Or your dad. I really don't care. But tell 'em where your going."  
"That'd be a lot easier," I muttered to Tyler. "-if _we_ knew."

* * *

**Aw! I think we can make Review even happier, don't you? Do you want to see the poor thing cry? **


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